Welcome to Weckerle Outdoors! My name is Jason Weckerle and I'm a multi-species freshwater angler and musician from Wisconsin, USA. I will be posting weekly videos of my fishing trips as well as fishing tutorials for both beginner and experienced fishermen. You'll also get a taste of the music I create because it's featured in my videos. Come along with me on my outdoor adventures - learn, relax and enjoy!
I didn’t realize it was you lol. The pics are too small. I subscribed to your page, didn’t know you had a channel! Hope you’re having a great fishing season. I’ll check your videos out !
@@WeckerleOutdoors thanks brotha I appreciate it ! And we have been doing alright man I wanted to get out and do more muskey, walleye , and pike fishing but it’s been mainly a lot of bass and panfish 🤣 I see you guys have been doing pretty well tho!
@@doitforfunoutdoors2997 it’s been a slow summer but we caught some quality fish so that’s all that matters . The storms, floods, and a lot of boat traffic and fishing pressure has made half my spots unfishable half the summer. Glad the rivers are finally dropping so I can maybe get on some smallmouth , pike, and catfish spots I like to fish in summer. Hoping late summer / Fall brings some bigger results. The dog days of summer suck when your shore bound. Good luck on the water bro! 😎 🎣
Have you ever made marabou jigs using these colors? Thinking about making some 1/8 ounce to try on the whitebass here in Pennsylvania. I'd assume they'd be effective on a double or triple rig. Awesome channel btw! Have learned a lot.
Thank you so much for the kind words and support for the channel! I haven’t personally tried many marabou jig colors other than white or chartreuse for whitebass, or black, brown, or olive green for Smallmouth. But whitebass go after some odd colored flies so I don’t doubt the same colors would be effective with other jigs and lures. A tandem rig set of marabou jigs in 1/32, 1/16, and 1/8 oz is standard practice for whitebass! If you try some of these colors let me know how you do! Good luck fishing! 🎣
@WeckerleOutdoors Thanks! I'll actually be going out tomorrow morning using a double rig with a 1/16th all white and a 1/8th red/silver on a chartreuse head. I'll definitely let you know how it goes. Seems like I've been catching mostly black crappie and channel cats while targeting white bass lately lol. I did catch a huge WB earlier this week though on a pink jighead with a cookies and cream swimmer. I actually had a bite near the bottom and assumed it was a sheepshead so I cranked my line up to avoid it then was surprised to see a white bass dart up out of nowhere and take the bait just a few feet below the surface. These guys are so much fun to catch!
I haven’t tried the bait ball yet. But I was gonna let you know I tried one of those longer flies you tied for me and the Milwaukee River Smallmouth liked them. I didn’t catch any giants, but some 8”-14” fish on the flies and fly rod! Thanks again for that package you sent me awhile back!
That really sucks about that pond, but it's awesome that you got your gear back. The pond that I caught my PB was in a suburb and was not posted. I fished there for two months before one of the neighbors came out and told us it was private and that we're not welcomed back. It was a good little pond, not only for bass but for nice size gills for my daughter to catch. There was another nice pond in the same neighborhood that had big bass and was perfect for frog fishing, but that summer we didn't get enough rain, so winter killed off a lot of the fish in there. It's hard finding good places to fish without them being totally private or somebody ruining it for the rest of us.
I’ve caught probably 60-70% of my biggest Largemouth, Crappies, Bluegills, and Pike out ponds. Whether they’re subdivision ponds, farm, or park ponds. A lot of those waters get overlooked and neglected by fisherman, so the fish just keep eating, breeding, and growing. We found a lot of great ponds in apartment complexes and neighborhoods, but usually those places as fishy as they are get heavily posted No Trespassing. Once in awhile you find a nice homeowner who lets you fish their property if you ask, offer them work on their yards , or a fish fry. But people are less trusting nowadays due to the way of the world basically, and people trashing and vandalizing property. I’m sad about the church pond, not sure if the guy my wife and I were talking with knew 100% what was gonna happen to the place. I hope if they fill it back in they at least spare the chemicals and let it thrive again. The guy who talked to my wife and me seen us picking up trash a few times so I know he likes us anyways. But every pond I fish gets hammered on by slobs leaving their trash behind, or they’re filling their buckets full of fish with little regard for the rules or future of the body of water. I need to find more ponds this year cause the rivers been blown up and flooded, we are expecting 1.55” more rain today in my area, it’ll help keep the lakes and shallows thriving that have rivers connected to them, but it’ll only blow the major rivers we like to fish up more!
Next time I’m on them Spring or Fall I’ll let you know. There’s a few good lakes and rivers in southern WI, and many north and central as well. They’re a blast to catch, especially if you get them on UL rods and lures. Flies and rigs is fun, but you need slightly heavier rods (medium or medium/light) , and you end up fighting the weight of the sinker a lot. But if you can get them on Rapalas, jigs, spinners on a UL rod, they fight like silver sides Smallmouth!
I dont know how I feel about this honestly. I pick up other peoples trash at several ponds that I fish just to keep the area clean. For them to drain that pond just get rid of the littering issue.....it mustve been a huge problem. Seems like a drastic move to get rid of a solvable problem...imo. Hate to see those spots go away because it effects all the wildlife in the area.. This is why we cant have nice things......always some moron around to ruin it for everyone. Tight lines you 2🐟🐟🐟
It’s absolutely sad and ridiculous when certain individuals can screw things up for the rest of us. I hope the people running things at the church will have a change of heart, refill the pond, and let it thrive again. But there were days I could’ve filled a couple grocery store sized plastic bags with fishing paraphernalia and cans. You would think outdoorsman would have more respect for nature, but so many slobs fish it’s ridiculous! What can you do though aside from pick up after others and try to do your part? Plenty of places to catch Bass, but it always sucks seeing a good spot destroyed. It was surprising they let people fish there anyways. Hopefully 🤞 they bring the pond back again. Seeing trophy bass and all the wildlife disappear sucks. Good luck fishing. 🎣
I know it really sucks. Hopefully we can find some more ponds with quality sized Bass in it. So many ponds produce numbers , but it’s getting harder and harder to find giant Bass nowadays. Seemed when I was a kid and young adult, catching big ones was a lot easier. But the past decade so many spots declined, even major trophy bass lakes we fish. And now we just lost one more hidden gem sadly! RIP Bass Pond
I've caught countless Steelhead on orange, pink and purple caribou streamers with royal blue flashibou . Best single streamer that I ever used. I even learned to approxate eyes with the blue flashibou just behind the head. I suppose that you could tie them from bucktail for walleye
Thanks for the info, I’ll have to try to get my hands on some caribou hair and see if it fishes differently than standard buck tail. Walleyes definitely love anything orange, pink, or purple , so I’ll probably tie up a few in those colors and give them a try. Purple, red, and green flies have produced best for me so far when it comes to Whitebass and Walleyes, but they go on some wacky color combos sometimes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and for watching the video! Good luck fishing
I have two of original Carbon X. Just got a 3000 Carbon X II. I like them both. Noticed the II 3000 is really like an original 2000 in terms of spool size. Is that right?
@@WeckerleOutdoors yes it holds a lot of line. In general I have liked all of the Piscifun reels I have purchased except the Phantom X which they don’t sell anymore. Great reels for the money.
Hope you all enjoyed this longer video. It’s definitely a trip worth watching. There are tips and pointers throughout, a lot of surprises and we captured some crazy footage as well! So grab a snack, sit back and relax! Many more great videos coming soon!
For a 1000 size, I would run an ultralight, light or medium light rod, for the 2000 size, medium light to medium and for the 3000 size, medium to medium heavy action.
I think the walleye have to be fifteen inches in Monona now. I still won't eat them. I don't think I've eaten any fish out of lakes around Madison except a couple catfish almost twenty years ago
Yeah but for a inland lake the DNR says it’s at the top of the list for pollution. I didn’t know if the Madison limit was 15 or 18 inches, I was hearing 18” was the southern WI size limit so I just went by that measurement. But I’m not eating those Madison fish anymore, they were off tasting and the consumption warnings make me squeamish 😆. It’s fun to fish though because of the trophy sized fish, love throwing Jerkbaits and plastics at night! Hope you have a great fishing season Madtown. And great video content by the way! 👍🏼
Hey the bite should still be on in the rivers, as long as the rain didn’t mess it up too much. Just gotta get out and try! I’m probably going to try next week before I go up north on vacation. Good luck!
Great video I have never fished for anything at night besides catfish. I was shocked to see how many fish were biting! How many lights do you take out with you??
Thanks so much! I usually just take a headlamp with me, but if it’s really dark I also take LED powered lanterns I bought off of Amazon that are super bright. I think the brand is VONT. This spot was lit up well enough where I didn’t need them though.
They average about $3.50-$4 a fly, sometimes $5-$6 for 2 flies. I used to make and sell them myself but it’s too time consuming, and the price of materials going up doesn’t leave much wiggle room for profits. But the bait shops usually sell them for the prices mentioned above. I just find it cheaper and easier to make them on my own, I can make the colors I like, and it passes the time during the winter months sitting in front of the TV tying flies. They’re so easy and so much more affordable to make them yourself, I don’t know why more guys don’t tie the flies themselves.
The chest cam footage didn’t turn out as good as I wanted it to, so I just ended up not even using the footage. Next time I may set up 2 cameras on separate tripods.
@@WeckerleOutdoors I figured something went wrong. Nice to see close up what your doing for us beginners. Thankyou for your time. Your appreciated more then you might know.
@@mr.hottub8708 thank you so much, I truly appreciate your kindness and support! I’ll definitely be making more fly tying videos in the future and I’ll make sure to get better close ups when I do.
100# fluro is too thin, 130+ is OK. It's a Stringease snap. It's an interesting knot. Looks like a different way to tie a Centauri knot. Crimping fluro really is a bad idea. Good vid!
Thanks for watching and for your support, I greatly appreciate it. As for leader size, 100lb is standard for fluorocarbon Musky leaders, and when using smaller Musky/Pike baits 80lb Fluorocarbon is sometimes used. I wouldn’t feel comfortable going below 80lb, but some baits run better with a thinner leader. I know one guy using 65lb fluorocarbon on some of the crystal clear lakes around my area, but that’s a little too low for my comfort as far as casting expensive baits and the possible loss of fish is concerned . But 100lb holds up to the abuse of casting heavy lures and the teeth of Muskies and Pike just fine in my personal experience, I never had any issues with 100lb. You just have to check your leaders after catching a fish to make sure they’re not frayed or cut up. But 130lb is a good choice if you’re throwing heavier lures or just want to put your mind at ease overall if you’re worried about lost fish or baits. I throw 100-130lb leaders, usually I bump up to 130lb for my bigger rubber baits like BullDawgs and Medussas. Thanks again for watching and sharing your thoughts . Good luck fishing! 🎣
I used to get my materials from Reinke Brothers in Milwaukee, but unfortunately Bob passed away and his store is no longer in operation. So lately I’ve been getting my materials from J Stockard Fly Fishing website, but Amazon has some affordable options as well. Thanks so much for watching and I’ll be sure to make more tying videos in the future!
I'll check them out, thanks. The concept of walleye flys is new for me but I think it is pretty neat so I'd like to give it a try. Looking forward to more of your tying videos like I said, I've never tied before but it has always interested me and I fish rivers in my area so I think it might work well, at least worth a shot and I like the idea of the satisfaction of catching fish on something I made myself. Keep the videos comin!@@WeckerleOutdoors
@@camaro6810 you’re welcome, it’s very rewarding catching fish on your own creation. I tie all sorts of different flies and I have a couple other fly videos on my channel. I show another very effective fly pattern in this video here and catch a bunch of different species at night - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4HynvWWQxSU.html good luck!
I used to but I just don’t have the time to sell them anymore. Also materials are getting more expensive. If you live in Wisconsin , the stores (Dicksmiths Bait Shop) in Delafield, and (Rock River Baitbox) sells them in Fort Atkinson. You can also find a number of guys online who sell them if you look up (whitebass / walleye streamer flies) on Google or EBay. If I ever do find time time in the future to sell them I’ll make a video announcement. But I mainly just tie a small batch of flies here and there to keep up with my own supply. Hope the video helps and this info helps. Thanks for watching.
Live pretty close to there and have never been out on it. I fish down river from the bank and crush limit's of Jumbo's. My biggest is 16.25" caught back in the 80s on lake Michigan, but I have Two on the wall from the Mississippi that are 15.50" and 15.75" caught through the ice on 1&2# test.
I used to love fishing Lake Michigan Perch and have a video here on my RU-vid page showing a tutorial on how to catch them on artificial baits . 15-16”s were my biggest ones over the years. The Mississippi River ones just get some fat and huge it’s insane. I never ice fished the Mississippi yet and always hope to get on the ice for them perch someday. I would also love to find more shore access along the river when the barges get overcrowded. I seen guys catching them by Clements/Genoa along the railroad track Wisconsin shoreline. It’s a pain in the butt waking up midnight, driving 3-4 hrs from SE Wisconsin to get in line and get a spot on those barges sometimes . People love that perch fishing! I didn’t make it out to the Mississippi this year due to weather and health issues, hoping to make it happen still at some point. Thanks for watching the video and good luck catching more jumbos! 🎣
Anytime my family goes catfishing in the river, we all bring an extra pole with a bill lewis rattle trap and always catch a few bonus white bass! Next time we go I'll have to try the small jerkbaits.
Also give some 1/16 oz jigs and 2” Keitech Easy Shiners , or a 2”-3” Curly Tail/ Mr Twisters a try! Cant for go wrong with the 1/8 oz Roostertail spinner as well, silver and white being my favorite color spinner! Good luck fishing! 🎣
I can’t speak for anyone else but I can give you my personal reasons for this. I don’t share the name of locations because you can destroy a spot overcrowding them with too many fisherman, ….,people leave too much trash and tangled fishing line behind which leads to me picking up after them , and you put a lot of fish at risk of being kept which isn’t good for fish populations. When those fish are actually feeding heavy a lot of over harvest and poaching occurs which is unfortunate, people can tend to get very greedy when the going is good. I’d love to trust people more and know they’re doing the right things on the water, but after fishing almost 35 years I’ve seen some disgusting behaviors on the lakes and rivers. There’s a lot of good respectful people who fish, but it only takes a few idiots to lead to fights, spots being trashed and shut down to the public, property damage, fish populations going down. It’s nothing personal when fisherman don’t share the name of spots, but like I said I can only share my own experiences and reasons. So many people fish nowadays you have to mindful about the info you share, when you share it, and so on. I don’t want to be personally responsible for attracting the wrong attention to a spot, or possibly getting a spot overly crowded which doesnt make for the most enjoyable experience on the water! Hope you enjoyed the video and hope it helped anyways, sorry I’m not open about the spots, but I try to leave something educational nonetheless and explain what to look for on the water. Thanks for taking the time to watch ! Good luck fishing 🎣!
Good luck out there and hope you do well! It’s always usually a great time as long as the river isn’t blown up with floods or floating grass, and everyone around you fishing is cool. I’ve had positive and negative experiences but the Mississippi is normally a blast to fish! So many fish species you never know what you’ll catch. Thanks for watching!
They’re lucky it’s not the 1800s, things could’ve ended differently! I heard one of them was caught poaching deer 🦌 after the trial, but I can’t remember which one it was off the top of my head. But hopefully they learn from their mistakes and knock this off, and nobody lets them compete at any level in tournaments anymore!
@@WeckerleOutdoors they will definitely learn from their mistakes. They will be much more sneaky next time. The only thing that can re program the neuro-pathways in a mind like that is a redemptive miracle from God. And He doesn’t help people who won’t admit they are sick. That’s why they used to kill cheaters and horse thieves.
I started using size 6-8 (2x Long Nymph / Streamer fly Hooks) made by Jay Stockhard brand . Nice strength and sharpness, and very affordable compared to other brands. The size 8 is about standard , and if I tie larger flies I bump up to a size 6. Or you can go with size 4-6 Aberdeen Hooks as well as another option. They’re pretty affordable and available at almost any bait shop or retail store. I prefer Mustad brand if I use Aberdeen style hooks, but Eagle Claws work just fine. You may have to take a hook file to the Eagle Claws but they’re affordable. I find if a hook doesn’t have at least some give to the strength getting snags out and baits back is impossible. I’m really liking the Jay Stockard brand (2x long Nymph fly hooks) size 6-8 like I said ! Good luck fishing and thanks for watching! 🎣
Chartreuse over white is an excellent choice. You mix almost any color with a white belly , and you have a good chance at catching fish! Orange and white, pink and white have also worked . I just tend to stick to dark colors for the backs of the flies personally. It’s good to have some variety though, especially some days when oddball colors save the day when nothing else seems to work. Good luck fishing and thanks for watching ! 🎣
So far so good on the Carbon X reels! I even fell in the river this past fall, my reel was totally submerged and I took it home, took it apart, dried it out, and re-lubed the reel…… works like a charm 👍🏼. Definitely recommend the reels so far , and I put a lot of hours on them already! Thanks for watching the video and good luck fishing!
Very true! Doesn’t get much more simple than some hair and tinsel tied to a hook! It comes down to the fisherman working the fly rig just right to get the fish to bite, but flies have been around since mankind first learned to fish with hook and line! Thanks for watching the video! 🎣
I am most at home when I’m either jigging plastics or live bait, or casting 3 way rigs. Love jigging and feeling that tap/thunk on the line when the fish bites. Gotta love it 🎣 Thanks for watching! 👍🏼
If you punch them then you will be charged with assault and you will go to prison it's not worth it to go to prison over. If anyone else punch them they will go to prison too. Violence is not the way to go and it's not worth it to go to prison over.
I completely agree with you 100% ! Violence is only necessary in self defense and protection over others who you either love, or who can’t protect themselves! I’m glad nobody spent any jail time over these idiots cheating in the tournament. Hope the guys learned their lesson and change their ways and behavior! Thanks for watching!
@@WeckerleOutdoors It's good that Jason said I don't want anyone to touch these guys because Jason may save them a trip to prison. In my country some people had want to prison for self defense sometimes it happens because the crimmles lie to the police saying they are the victims of violence and the real victims end up in prison.
Thank you! We catch quite a few smallies in the 20” range up north on the lakes and rivers inland of the Great Lakes (Lake Superior/Lake Michigan) but it’s not common getting them as big as this one! I actually have seen a few bigger ones that looked to be 24-25” long believe it or not on some of the rivers and lakes in northern WI. When the fish are pre-spawn or spawning you see some monsters in the shallows. I’m going to get a replica made of this 22” fish someday, I caught 1 other 22” in the past but the fish you seen the video is fatter than my first 22”er ! Good luck fishing and thanks for watching!
